The U.K. government has so far been delayed by not having the right civil service teams ready, by today’s court case forcing it to get parliamentary approval to trigger Article 50, and by the EU scaring potential partners away from illegal trade negotiations with the U.K. before it leaves the union.

And now Manfred Weber, the leader of the European People’s Party, the European Parliament’s biggest group, is keen to show that the Parliament won’t be cut out of the process.

UK Supreme court ruling is clear: Parliaments must be respected. European Parliament will have the final say on #brexit@EPPGroup

Many already suspect Weber is the real power behind the throne of new Parliament President Antonio Tajani, also from the EPP. The EPP’s deal with the liberal ALDE group also puts Weber in close contact with Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt, the ALDE leader.

What better way to show who is boss than to beat President Tajani and a dozing Verhofstadt to deliver the Brussels verdict on today’s court ruling? Verhofstadt is in the United States promoting his book, “Europe’s Last Chance,” and it was 4:30 a.m. when the court ruling was delivered.

Authors:

Related stories on these topics:

glasspix 1

Trolling is the right word for Weber’s conduct, he is like a provocative child begging to be made and example. The man who is responsible for the CDU-isation of the EPP should remember the elementary principle of democracy that parliament can only have the final word when it abides by the will of the people that have elected it. Obviously he is not a member of such parliament, who with the right mind would vote for the embodiment of contempt towards us plebs.

Posted on 1/24/17 | 5:17 PM CET

Pox

Where is the trolling?

Posted on 1/24/17 | 8:09 PM CET

wasnotwas

Never heard of the bloke before. Must be of no consequence whatsoever.

Posted on 1/24/17 | 9:40 PM CET

alan

@wasnotwas

Makes expensive BBQ’s ?

Posted on 1/24/17 | 10:05 PM CET

Maverick

Yet another EU attempt to obstruct, threaten or dissuade the UK…..what makes you think they are afraid…….very afraid.

Posted on 1/24/17 | 10:36 PM CET

wasnotwas

@Alan

I prefer George Foreman’s offerings. By far the healthier option.

Posted on 1/24/17 | 11:12 PM CET

SGU66

Unfortunately it appears that politicians of all stripes seem to forget that there will continue to be a relationship between the UK and Europe. There seems to be an ability for these politicians to forget that irrespective of any negotiations, resentments will build unless there is a respect for the drivers from each party. If these drivers really prevent a workable solution for future engagement, the last thing you want is a baseline of resentment, as history has always shown that consequences are rarely forecast by politicians, and it is the peoples of Europe that have to struggle with these unforeseen consequences. Each country has it’s own interests, but it was a failure of politicians of all stripes to reflect on the UK’s underlying concern over free movement that helped lead to the referendum result (irrespective of the post-truths used by both sides of the campaign). Populism seems to be a horror word at present, but it seems that politicians have forgotten that those who support populist movements do not just make up their mind following a sound-bite from a politician, but that the politician taps into the underlying feelings that exist. A number of EU countries are now at the point where the UK was when UKIP was first thought to be made up of a load of “looneys”; please remember the consequences of that lack of foresight to undertake changes when the opportunity existed.